Top positive review

This is a very deep and disturbing film that probes on todays youth and influences that they have from the media such as the internet and pop culture, probably more so in Japan than here but still. The movie starts off with its biggest shocking scene with a group of girls throwing themselves in front of a train then the story continues with the police investigating into if it was suicide or infact murder, the plot is very complicated and twisted and takes many turns to throw you off, by the end your kind of left to piece it together yourself, the movie is very dark and has some gruesome gore, but is very well acted and it does do a good job of sucking you in, if your into strange Japanese movies with shocks and violence you should like it anyway even if it feels by the end the director couldnt think of a better way to bring the message across.

Top critical review

The actual idea of this film is excellent, which centres on a spate of unexplained suicides. The film itself in parts has a 70s feel particularly the outside shots at the train station, and certainly has some memorable scenes. However the last 3rd of this film spoils the remainder by turning into some sort of over indulgent art film. This is a terrible shame as this really had the potential to be a classic. Disappointing!!

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

This is a very deep and disturbing film that probes on todays youth and influences that they have from the media such as the internet and pop culture, probably more so in Japan than here but still. The movie starts off with its biggest shocking scene with a group of girls throwing themselves in front of a train then the story continues with the police investigating into if it was suicide or infact murder, the plot is very complicated and twisted and takes many turns to throw you off, by the end your kind of left to piece it together yourself, the movie is very dark and has some gruesome gore, but is very well acted and it does do a good job of sucking you in, if your into strange Japanese movies with shocks and violence you should like it anyway even if it feels by the end the director couldnt think of a better way to bring the message across.

0Comment|
One person found this helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?

There was a problem loading the comments at the moment. Please try again later.

This film is a cult classic. If you haven't heard of Suicide club before then you cannot call yourself a horror fan. The movie is really gory and has tidal waves of blood splashing all over the place (at least at one point). However unlike some gore films Suicide Clubs gore feels realistic. Not only that but the film isn't simply showing gore for gores sake. The horror in the film feels very real too.

All of the characters are easy to relate too and make you feel upset, unlike in a lot of modern horrors where you don't care about the characters.

The film also has an air of mystery behind it which makes you constantly be questioning who is behind the deaths.

The film also has good replay values. I've watched it 3 times now.

Overall if you like gory horrors then why haven't you watched this yet? Watch it.

There was a problem loading the comments at the moment. Please try again later.

The actual idea of this film is excellent, which centres on a spate of unexplained suicides. The film itself in parts has a 70s feel particularly the outside shots at the train station, and certainly has some memorable scenes. However the last 3rd of this film spoils the remainder by turning into some sort of over indulgent art film. This is a terrible shame as this really had the potential to be a classic. Disappointing!!

0Comment|
3 people found this helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?

There was a problem loading the comments at the moment. Please try again later.

I'm pretty sure all the other people who wrote reviews have studied physcology to find the movie so deep... I'm not saying the film wasn't great... It was. There was alot of people jumping out of windows and off roofs. A heap of fake blood and guts. There was even numerous rolls of skin and freaky little kids.... anything deeper than that went over my head.

0Comment|
2 people found this helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?

There was a problem loading the comments at the moment. Please try again later.

On a more sincere note, this movie will divide opinion sharply, irritating more than it entertains or will ever give rise to serious debate. Suicide Club falls somewhere between art-house pretension and comic social commentary - with nods toward the methods of David Lynch. Writer/director, Sion Sono has put together a quirky, compelling fable which flourishes whilst our curiosity is piqued and the structure follows a familiar detective quest. But somewhere in the middle he seems to have lost faith with his original ideas and unloads his deeper, satirical arguments in a perplexing sprawl.Sono abandons his realistic characters, exchanging them for fey, limp-wristed, 'bad-guys' - who wouldn't be out of place in an episode of the 60's Batman TV series. Mercifully, they're just an adjunct to the plot - and are soon expelled. But they're on screen long enough to burst the bubble. Diminished in credible main characters the engine of the plot stalls and the pace grinds to a halt. Also mislaid in the trade: subtlety. The opening shots are certain to be the most controversial - 54 Japanese school girls, happily leaping to their death in front of an oncoming subway train. Imagine how many grotesque ways this could be exploited - and you'll be surprised at the director's restraint.But once past the half-way mark, everything unravels in the genre switch; from crime drama to social critique via irritating pop video. Expect lingering close ups on severed fingers and precisely cut wounds. Neat because they were shaved with a carpenter's plane. And if you expect a resolution to the detective plot you're in for a BIG let down.Sono's camera fixates on lengths of flesh, bed sheets and vast, tent-like enclosures - comparing them to the womb. But in Suicide Club, they becomes venues of mutilation and destruction. Vague pronouncements are made on the loss of 'self' and the witless, sheep-like adoration of popular culture - which seems to have replaced actually possessing a life of one's own. The irony being that these statements are made by children. Yet, the people who could benefit the most from these observations will be too young to watch this film and will certainly never understand them.DVD wise, the picture quality is soft and dreary: a fog of green smudges in the mostly under-lit, night time shots and extremes of contrast in the remainder. Treat this disk like a sampler and you won't be disappointed.PS - If you despise manufactured pop music and the cynical manipulation of its pre-teen audience - you'll love this movie.

0Comment|
4 people found this helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?